Bring on the Indoor Season and the cool, brisk, breeze of the month of November.
Pole Vault news, “Gilligan soared 3.60m to break the Centre and Residential Record for the 40-plus age group.” (Gilligan sets pole vault record. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/4973630/gilligan-sets-pole-vault-record/)
“World javelin champion Johannes Vetter from Germany and world pole vault champion Ekaterini Stefanidi from Greece were named 2017 European Athletes of the Year at the Golden Tracks award ceremony in Vilnius, Lithuania on Saturday (14) evening.” (Vetter and Stefanidi crowned European Athletes of the Year. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/european-athletes-year-2017-stefanidi-vetter)
On the cover, we have the University of Massachusettes Lowell with Coach Patrick Swett with seven years of experience on to put towards pole vault and long jumping. “Today, the UMass Lowell coaching staff is quite large, with at least one coach focused on each event, but the team was not always this fortunate. The ability to expand the staff and the program is due to UMass Lowell’s recent elevation from an NCAA Division II school to a Division I school in 2013. “When I began my career at UMass Lowell,” recounts Coach Swett, “We were a Division II athletic institution with only a few track coaches, so I coached the pole vault, high jump, long jump, triple jump, and was the multi-events coordinator.”” Samantha Kaplan helps bring the coach and his athletes into the forefront of this article.
Here comes the Danes! “For many collegiate athletes, the choice of whether or not to study abroad for a semester or even a year is intertwined with the prospect of losing time to train. Especially for pole vaulters, it is difficult to find ways to train effectively in a foreign country while still enjoying a break from competitive practices. However, pole vaulting while abroad is a great way to meet local athletes, immerse yourself in a new culture, and engage in different ways of training. When I first decided to study abroad in Denmark for the fall semester of my junior year, I was worried that I would have to sacrifice my winter and spring seasons because of the lack of practice. A quick google search of “pole vaulting clubs in Copenhagen” brought me to the homepage of the Amager Athletik Club, located on the island of Amager outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. I reached out to the coach, Allan Kolbye, over email and found myself walking onto their track a week later.” Kreager Taber looks to be having some serious fun over sea’s, and we hope that she travels well and studies hard!
Enjoy your fall and we will be back for the cold month of December.
